Chapter Twenty-Three

“Is it possible it’s you?” Detective Black asked.

Annie wondered if a person could be in contempt in front of a police officer the same way they could in a courtroom. If she knew with absolute certainty that she wouldn’t be fined or jailed, she would have shared her thoughts with Detective Black.

“Of course it’s not her,” Margie spat, her pallor still alarming. “I’d like the name of your supervisor. Maybe he or she would be interested to know that the city’s money is being wasted on wild goose chases rather than actual detective work.”

Ben cleared his throat. “Look, tensions are high. If you have nothing else, Detectives, it’s been a long day.”

“What’s the nature of your relationship to Ms. Abbott?” Detective Rickers asked.

Margie threw her hands up, saying the words Annie was thinking. “None of your business. We’re done here.”

Annie turned and started to leave but thought better of it. “Margie, are you all right?”

Margie met her gaze, anger flashing like a wildfire in the older woman’s eyes. “I’m fine, dear. You take care of you. I’ve got some things to do.” With that, she turned and power walked toward her house.

“Ben, are you coming?” Annie asked.

She felt the heavy, accusatory gazes of both detectives as she and Ben walked toward the garage. When she reached the door, she turned around. The detectives were headed to their vehicle.

“Detective Rickers?”

He turned when she called.

“Who gave you that photo?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. Do you recognize it?”

Annie gave him a weary smile. It took effort to summon it up. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

Ben snickered beside her. When they entered the garage, all of her bravado evaporated and she fell against the door, using it as a prop to hold her upright.

“You okay?”

“The world has turned upside down. I feel like I’m stuck in a bad novel. One of those ones where you’re thinking, Wait, this makes absolutely no sense. What the hell is the author doing?”

Ben stepped closer, looked at her like he was seeking permission. Straightening, she stepped closer. “If you’re asking if you can hug me, the answer is a hard yes.”

He wrapped his arms around her, and she let her head fall to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It wasn’t about attraction or defining statuses. It was about comfort, and boy, did Annie need it. She hated admitting that, even to herself, but it was the absolute truth. Her world was imploding, and she couldn’t find the button to stop it.

“Things will be okay.” Ben smoothed a hand down her hair, and she wanted so badly to believe him. But she didn’t. “Maybe we should talk to Ryan.”

Tears pricked her eyelids as she stepped back. “If it’s okay with you, I’d rather not. I don’t think I could handle another person who could control my fate believing the worst of me. I know he’s your friend, but I just need time to sort through things.”

Ben nodded, his expression cautious and concerned.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she forced another smile. “Let’s name the cats. Then I have some calls to make.”

They sat down on the garage floor. Shelby looked up at them with disdain.

“We’ve been busy,” Annie said in their defense.

The cat looked away, licked her babies as they nuzzled against her. She let out a deep purr.

“That sounds like a judgmental purr,” Annie muttered.

Ben laughed. “I think she’s just happy.”

Shelby looked at Ben with obvious cat love. Annie scowled. “Hey, I’m the one feeding you.”

Ben shook his head, petting Shelby. “Stop looking for trouble. You have enough of it.”

She poked his shoulder, her fingers itching to pick up one of the cats. “She started it.”

Ben’s laughter startled Shelby, but she seemed to forgive him easily. “I’m guessing their names will change. You still want to do this?”

Annie looked at Ben, staring at his profile as he stroked Shelby with exquisite tenderness. “Yeah. I feel like we should. The names can just be for us. You said they’ll need to stay for a while, right?”

He nodded. “Six weeks minimum. They should open their eyes sometime next week. You’ve got an even split; two boys, two girls.”

Annie didn’t want to know how he knew that, especially since the websites she’d read said don’t touch them. Of course, Shelby would let Ben get away with a lot more than Annie.

“Well, the boys’ names seem obvious.”

Ben stared at her. When he clearly couldn’t guess, she shared. “Sherlock and Watson.”

Ben laughed. “I should have guessed.”

She nodded. “You really should have.”

Annie watched the kittens squirm and nestle into a multicolored ball of fluff as Ben thought about girls’ names. When a few minutes passed, she turned and caught him staring at her. Nerves fluttered under her skin like mini pulses.

“This is harder than I thought.”

“It is,” Annie said, breaking their stare first.

“Uh, okay. Dorothy and Blanche.”

Annie sucked in a breath that caught around her laughter, and she started to cough. When she regained her composure—which she seemed to lose around him far too often—she tried to school her features.

Ben’s cheeks were slightly pink. “My grandma watched The Golden Girls when I was growing up, and now that I’ve shown her how to use Netflix, she’s back into it.”

“I think it’s sweet, though I worry we’re setting one of them up to be a bit promiscuous. That was Blanche, right?”

“She’s just secure in her sexuality,” Ben said, clearly fighting his own laughter.

“The cat or the character?”

“Both, I think.”

Shelby joined them again, brushing up against Ben’s leg. Annie couldn’t say she blamed the feline. He was awfully nice to cozy up to. Like you don’t have enough things on your plate at the moment?

Ben nodded firmly. “Then it’s settled. To us, they’ll be Blanche, Dorothy, Sherlock, and Watson.”

Annie nodded, a strange clutch in her heart making her fingers clench. She wanted one of them. Well, she actually wanted all of them. You’re just feeling emotionally attached. It’ll pass.

“You okay?” Ben touched her shoulder.

She nodded. “I am. Or I will be. I have the Zoom call with your friend, and I also have a friend of mine—the private investigator—looking into a few things. I was going to tell them about the picture.”

She explained how she’d first seen it. Ben let out a low whistle. “This just keeps getting more tangled.”

Annie swallowed down the unexpected lump in her throat. “There’s still time to run.”

Ben tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not much of a runner.”

After an awkward moment that made her stomach somersault, they stood, dusted themselves off. She walked him out to the driveway where he’d parked his truck, then did the whole standing around thing, unsure why her emotions were boiling over.

“I’ll pick you up Saturday for the service?”

She nodded. “Sure. If I’m not in jail by then.”

Ben didn’t laugh at her joke. “Don’t do that.” He stepped closer, kissed her cheek. “Everything will be okay.”

When he pulled back, she gave him a smile. He’d been so great. The least she could do was fake her belief in his words.

“Thanks for dinner.”

“No problem.”

“Guess it’s my turn. My grandma wants you to come, but I was wondering if we should wait until things settle a bit.”

She gave a humorless laugh. “I should do it as soon as possible before—”

“Annie.” The one word cut off her negative thought.

“Right. Positive thinking only. Let me know. My schedule is wide open. Other than Saturday. Between the funeral and games night, I’m all yours for the day.”

His eyes brightened. “It’ll make one easier and the other more fun.”

She waved as he pulled out of the driveway. Annie rubbed her hands up and down both arms. She sighed, looking toward Tate’s house. What had he done? And why? He’d been so opposed to sharing with the police. What changed his mind?

Annie shook off the feeling of being watched and headed for the house. It was time to find out some information about the people she’d met. Before she fell too hard for any of them, she needed to rule them out as murderers.